Battle of Bescham

The Battle of Bescham wwas fought on 23 October 2001 at the Taliban-occupied village of Bescham during the Invasion of Afghanistan. With assistance from US special forces soldiers from the US 5th Special Forces Group, Abdul Rashid Dostum's Northern Alliance forces were able to call in close air support against the Taliban fighters in Bescham and drive them out of the village.

History
On 19 October 2001, Operational Detachment Alpha 595 - consisting of 12 US Green Berets under Captain Mitch Nelson - was inserted into northern Afghanistan by Chinook helicopters. They were taken to "The Alamo" fortified camp in the mountains by a CIA agent and some local fighters, where they met with Abdul Rashid Dostum and brought him gifts of horse feed and vodka. Dostum had Captain Nelson and five other Americans accompany his main force to kill Taliban while six other men remained at the fortified camp to keep guard. The first target was the village of Bescham, which was ruled with an iron fist by Mullah Razzan. The Americans called in close air support from the Cobaki Caves 30,000 feet away after confirming that the concentration of fighters, pickup trucks, tanks, and armored vehicles below were Taliban (with Dostum radioing Razzan and telling his men to shout at the Americans who were about to kill them, confirming that the forces in the village were Razzan's Taliban). The first barrage missed the village, so Nelson moved to a cluster of rocks to call in more strikes. A Taliban element began to fire on Nelson and another US soldier, but the US soldiers and Northern Alliance fighters held off the Taliban until they called in danger-close airstrikes. The next strafing run hit the village and the Taliban vehicles, destroying the Taliban forces in the village.

A day later, the Northern Alliance forces decided to mount a charge against the village after more close air support was called in on Taliban tanks and buildings. Many Taliban fighters decided to surrender (having been forced to switch sides, including Dostum's own nephew), but Razzan began to shoot his own surrendering men. Soon, more Taliban armored vehicles and tanks arrived from a supply line, repelling the Northern Alliance charge. The Americans covered Dostum's retreat, and the Americans sent Sam Diller to lead a three-man unit to strike a Taliban supply route. The Americans and Northern Alliance forces cooperated until the village fell, clearing the path to Mazar-i-Sharif.